THE SCHOOL AT MONTMARTRE (1)

From THE OFFICIAL TRAVELOGUE OF SIR THOMAS CAT, ESQUIRE.
Translated from the Meowish.
Copyright December 1979.


[Part 1]


Once, many years ago, in a place which is one of the most famous in all of Paris--the suburb of Montmartre (MONT MAR TRR)--a particularly healthful drink was concocted by the shopkeepers who owned the outdoor cafés (CAF FAYZ). The drink, consisting of orange juice poured over ice shavings (sometimes with a splash of Ginger Ale added) was called a "Schuss de l'Orange" (SHOOSS DUH LOR AHNZ YUH), because the first chef to think of it was German and said the "schuss" sound his skis made on the ice during his days off in the Alps was just the sound made by his ice grater when he created the drink, running his grater along large blocks of ice.

At about the same time, there was a particular cat who used to frequent the cafés, hoping for lovely tidbits of cuisine (QUIZ EEN--literally "kitchen"), which is to say, specially prepared French food. The cat was a mixture, or melange (MEL AHNZ YUH), too. His father had been a robust orange Tabby, and his mother a delicate snow-white Persian. Thus, the cat had turned out looking something like a "Schuss de l'Orange" himself, and soon he was given that name.